A group of pro-Palestine protestors have been camped opposite the US embassy in London for nearly a year. The Community Camp 4 Palestine (CC4Pal) was created in September last year at Nine Elms Pavilion on the Thames embankment. Located in the Labour-run Wandsworth Borough Council, the encampment is covered in banners, posters and Palestinian flags, and even has an open kitchen area.
The council is now facing mounting pressure to evict the group after fierce blacklash from residents, who say they are “distressed”. One resident accused CC4Pal of “vandalising” the area by putting up stickers and spraying graffiti, which Wandsworth Borough Council has not done anything about, they said.
The local told The Telegraph: “We suffer a lot from the encampment. I try to avoid walking that way where the encampment is. We hear a lot of chanting and noise.
“They seem to vandalise the local area with a lot of stickers, banners, and graffiti, which I find distressing. We have complained to the council, but we have been told that they can’t do anything about it.”
Caroline Turner, director of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), said the encampment has left Jewish residents “distressed and intimidated”, and called for it to be removed.
She wrote a letter to Andrew Travers, interim CEO of London Borough of Wandsworth Council, urging him to oversee the eviction of the protestors.
Ms Turner also told the outlet: “The council continues to drag its feet in removing the illegal encampment, which has distressed and intimidated Jewish and other residents when they walk past.
“It is Wandsworth Council’s responsibility to remove this encampment with its flags, offensive posters, and slogans. We hope they will fulfill their duty and start the removal process.”
It is understood that CC4Pal will remain opposite the US embassy until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The group said they are exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and expression.
They said in a petition last week: “Our human and civic rights permit us to peacefully protest and express opposition to what the world’s highest courts have deemed to be a plausible genocide and war crimes, being committed by Israel in Gaza.
“We are a diverse and inclusive group of concerned volunteers, moved by our collective humanity to act against Israeli crimes in Palestine.”